Anyone else caught the latest Dirtwheels which featured a shootout between the two 2006 upgraded models?

In the past many people, myself included, have said the magazines are completely biased based upon advertising dollars. And you can see this to an extent in the magazines with smaller circulation numbers, but I felt this Dirtwheels article was probably one of the most fair and unbiased shootouts between the two. Everything was extremely close.

The only topic where they heavily favored a machine was cornering, and there they favored the YFZ for obvious reasons. But they said though the yamaha may handle better than the Honda, the Honda puts out more horsepower and revs faster.

I know many people will see this thread as an opportunity to bash the other quad, but what I'm looking for here is opinions on the article, not the machines.

 

Well I don't think it was so hot.... All it said was the same old worn out garbage like they have been printing for years.....
But the last paragraph was just kinda foolish....

" Go figure. Both of these machines would make excellent buy, but if you want all-around performance the yfz450 should be your choice. If you are looking for sheer power or don't mine spending an extra $1000 on new front A-arms, then the Honda should also be considered."

Well for one, I thought "sheer power" was "performance"
Also the article talks about how "close" they are. And then then at the end they contradict themselves.

 

In terms of performance, I think they were trying to point out that the YFZ450 handles better, in other words, it has more suspension travel and is now a smoother ride on the trails, yet can handle large jumps and corners on a motocross track excellently. The Honda, on the other hand, has harsher suspension and less travel, which makes it less comfortable on trail rides and not as capable of soaking up large jumps, but can handle whoop sections. They did say the Honda has more engine performance, meaning it has more grunt and is slightly faster. I think the last paragraph of the article reiterated these points clearly. The Honda will require less motor work, but more suspension work, and the Yamaha will require less suspension work, but more engine work. JMO

By the way, suite banshee. What's it top out at?

 

Well, how quick the worm has turned. Chances are when ltr450 comes out, the yfz450 will have the weakest motor of the 3. I forgot where I read it, but I heard rumors floating around of a completely redesigned 07 yfz450. These were rumors, so take it with a grain of salt.

 

I don't really know the top speed. It's geared 16-40, so it will most likely do over 100mph. However its for drag racing and most of the time I shut it down well before it tops out.
Don't no if I have big enough ***** to top it out! LOL.....

 

I'd be curious to know what et it could run with slicks on a 1/4 mile asphalt strip.

 

kinda of odd how every thing switched this year like last year yamaha had the better motor and then honda had better suspention then this year it was the oppsite.

just wanted to point that out.

 

It doesn't strike me as odd. Last year the YFZ had considerably stiffer suspension, which made it hard to ride in the trails and even the dunes. It was unforgiving, and hard to master. However, last year the Honda suspension was softer, which made it a smoother ride in the trails, and therefore easier for the average rider to handle, however, it did not perform as well on the motocross track. Both companies made considerable changes to the 2006 models, and they are obvious over last year's models. I don't recall the Yamaha having been said to have the better motor, though, it was frequently cited as revving more quickly and revving out longer as well.

I still think this article is one of the better comparisons done by a magazine.

 

I thought it was odd that the Honda felt like it had more power, and got significantly higher numbers on the dyno, yet the two ATVs were dead even in drag racing. The two ATVs even had what looked like identical gear ratios in all five gears, so gearing wasn't hurting the Honda's engine.

The YFZ also had considerably faster lap times than the Honda. Yet in another shootout this year, the 250cc four stroke motocross bike shootout, the KTM 250SX made the most horsepower, and produced the fastest lap times primarily due to that extra power, even though it only finished fourth out of five bikes in the shootout. So Honda really doesn't appear to be able to translate horsepower into better lap times, and the handling/suspension must be way off for that to be the case.

And in regards to the YFZ having an all new engine next year, ... it wouldn't surprise me one bit if that were indeed the case. The YZ450F got an all new engine this year, so the quad will likely get that engine next year. Don't worry folks, the YFZ won the shootout against Honda this year because of a better chassis, and next year it will be back on top in the engine dept. as well.

DV

 

Even though the Honda made more power, they were close in the drag for two reasons:

The Honda builds power quicker than the YFZ, but then it falls off on top, whereas, according to the dyno charts, the YFZ actually builds almost the same amount of power, but takes a little longer to build it.

I just saw that in Transworld, the new engine in the YZF. But I haven't read the article yet. I hope the YFZ gets that motor next year.

I think suspension is the key to the YFZ's speed, definitely. Look at the Fox float shocks that Natalie used, and he won the championship on it. Now Jones and Gust have signed to run those float shocks on their LT-R's.